The United States Department of Agriculture released dairy cow slaughter numbers for January, showing 264,000 moving through federally inspected plants last month.
That’s just 2,000 more cows than in December, and the same number that were slaughtered a year ago.
Despite high cull cow prices, dairy producers might have held onto cows a bit longer to take advantage of strong January milk prices. There will be a greater incentive to cull low producers this month and next as lower milk prices make their way through the system.
The full report can be read here.
